Paid an agent
Agent sites look official. The government site ends in .gov.lk.
Do South Africans need a visa for Sri Lanka?
Online authorisationfor South African passports
South Africans need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for Sri Lanka. It costs US$50 online, and South Africa isn’t on Sri Lanka’s free-ETA list.
What changed: Sri Lanka made the ETA free for 40 countries on 25 May 2026. South Africa wasn’t included.
What you need
Tick these off as you go. Your ticks are saved on this device.
How to do it
- Apply on eta.gov.lk; check the web address ends in .gov.lk.
- Pay US$50 by card.
- Keep the approval with your passport.
Official site:
Airlines decide whether you can board using a database called Timatic. Before you fly, check your route on the IATA Travel Centre.
What it costs in rand
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| ETA online | US$50, about R830 |
| ETA on arrival | US$60, about R990 |
| Children under 12 | Free |
Rand amounts use the exchange rate on 9 October 2026 (R16.53 to the US dollar, R18.50 to the euro, R21.87 to the pound) and are rounded. Work out your whole trip in the budget calculator.
Common problems and fixes
Plan your trip
Best timeDecember to March for the south and west coasts
MoneySri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Three trip ideas
The hill country
The train from Kandy to Ella through the tea estates.
Sigiriya and Dambulla
The rock fortress and cave temples.
The south coast
Galle Fort and Mirissa’s beaches.
Good to know
- The two monsoons hit different coasts at different times.
Book
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Sources and checks
Checked17 Oct 2026
Checked on 17 Oct 2026 against the official government or embassy page, plus at least one independent source.
- officialSri Lanka Electronic Travel Authorization · Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka · no date shown
- officialFree tourist visas for nationals of 40 selected countries · Department of Immigration and Emigration, Sri Lanka · published 25 May 2026
- secondarySri Lanka ETA 2026 fees · Wego · published 28 May 2026
- dataPassport Index Data (visa matrix for 199 passports, updated 17 Feb 2026) · imorte, continuing the dataset by Ilya Ilyankou (MIT licence) · published 17 Feb 2026
How we check: our method and every source we use.
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